91 research outputs found
On current penetration and plasma disruption
It is suggested that, in a tokamak discharge, the initial rapid current penetration and the disruptive instability may each be attributed to a type of nonlinear double tearing instability which causes growth and overlap of radially separated magnetic islands. The ensuing reconnection and braiding of magnetic lines would enhance local radial heat and particle transport, and could permit rapid redistribution of plasma current, inducing positive or negative spikes in the loop-voltage signal. (auth
Ion radial transport induced by ICRF waves in tokamaks
The wave-induced fluxes of energetic-trapped ions during ICRF heating of tokamak plasmas are calculated using quasilinear equations. A simple single particle model of this transport mechanism is also given. Both a convective flux proportional to k/sub phi/vertical bar E/sub +/vertical bar/sup 2/ and a diffusive flux proportional to k/sub phi//sup 2/vertical bar E/sub +/vertical bar/sup 2/ are found. Here, k/sub phi/ is the toroidal wave number and E/sub +/ is the left-hand polarized wave field. The convective flux may become significant for large k/sub phi/ if the wave spectrum is asymmetric in k/sub phi/. But for the conditions of most previous experiments, these calculations indicate that radial transport driven directly by the ICRF wave is unimportant
Hawking Spectrum and High Frequency Dispersion
We study the spectrum of created particles in two-dimensional black hole
geometries for a linear, hermitian scalar field satisfying a Lorentz
non-invariant field equation with higher spatial derivative terms that are
suppressed by powers of a fundamental momentum scale . The preferred frame
is the ``free-fall frame" of the black hole. This model is a variation of
Unruh's sonic black hole analogy. We find that there are two qualitatively
different types of particle production in this model: a thermal Hawking flux
generated by ``mode conversion" at the black hole horizon, and a non-thermal
spectrum generated via scattering off the background into negative free-fall
frequency modes. This second process has nothing to do with black holes and
does not occur for the ordinary wave equation because such modes do not
propagate outside the horizon with positive Killing frequency. The horizon
component of the radiation is astonishingly close to a perfect thermal
spectrum: for the smoothest metric studied, with Hawking temperature
, agreement is of order at frequency
, and agreement to order persists out to
where the thermal number flux is ). The flux
from scattering dominates at large and becomes many orders of
magnitude larger than the horizon component for metrics with a ``kink", i.e. a
region of high curvature localized on a static worldline outside the horizon.
This non-thermal flux amounts to roughly 10\% of the total luminosity for the
kinkier metrics considered. The flux exhibits oscillations as a function of
frequency which can be explained by interference between the various
contributions to the flux.Comment: 32 pages, plain latex, 16 figures included using psfi
Roles of Fast-Cyclotron and Alfven-Cyclotron Waves for the Multi-Ion Solar Wind
Using linear Vlasov theory of plasma waves and quasi-linear theory of
resonant wave-particle interaction, the dispersion relations and the
electromagnetic field fluctuations of fast and Alfven waves are studied for a
low-beta multi-ion plasma in the inner corona. Their probable roles in heating
and accelerating the solar wind via Landau and cyclotron resonances are
quantified. We assume that (1) low-frequency Alfven and fast waves have the
same spectral shape and the same amplitude of power spectral density; (2) these
waves eventually reach ion cyclotron frequencies due to a turbulence cascade;
(3) kinetic wave-particle interaction powers the solar wind. The existence of
alpha particles in a dominant proton/electron plasma can trigger linear mode
conversion between oblique fast-whistler and hybrid alpha-proton cyclotron
waves. The fast-cyclotron waves undergo both alpha and proton cyclotron
resonances. The alpha cyclotron resonance in fast-cyclotron waves is much
stronger than that in Alfven-cyclotron waves. For alpha cyclotron resonance, an
oblique fast-cyclotron wave has a larger left-handed electric field
fluctuation, a smaller wave number, a larger local wave amplitude, and a
greater energization capability than a corresponding Alfven-cyclotron wave at
the same wave propagation angle \theta, particularly at < \theta <
. When Alfven-cyclotron or fast-cyclotron waves are present, alpha
particles are the chief energy recipient. The transition of preferential
energization from alpha particles to protons may be self-modulated by
differential speed and temperature anisotropy of alpha particles via the
self-consistently evolving wave-particle interaction. Therefore, fast-cyclotron
waves as a result of linear mode coupling is a potentially important mechanism
for preferential energization of minor ions in the main acceleration region of
the solar wind.Comment: 29 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables. Accepted for publication in Solar
Physic
On the Origin of the Outgoing Black Hole Modes
The question of how to account for the outgoing black hole modes without
drawing upon a transplanckian reservoir at the horizon is addressed. It is
argued that the outgoing modes must arise via conversion from ingoing modes. It
is further argued that the back-reaction must be included to avoid the
conclusion that particle creation cannot occur in a strictly stationary
background. The process of ``mode conversion" is known in plasma physics by
this name and in condensed matter physics as ``Andreev reflection" or ``branch
conversion". It is illustrated here in a linear Lorentz non-invariant model
introduced by Unruh. The role of interactions and a physical short distance
cutoff is then examined in the sonic black hole formed with Helium-II.Comment: 12 pages, plain latex, 2 figures included using psfig; Analogy to
``Andreev reflection" in superfluid systems noted, references and
acknowledgment added, format changed to shorten tex
Kinetic Turbulence
The weak collisionality typical of turbulence in many diffuse astrophysical
plasmas invalidates an MHD description of the turbulent dynamics, motivating
the development of a more comprehensive theory of kinetic turbulence. In
particular, a kinetic approach is essential for the investigation of the
physical mechanisms responsible for the dissipation of astrophysical turbulence
and the resulting heating of the plasma. This chapter reviews the limitations
of MHD turbulence theory and explains how kinetic considerations may be
incorporated to obtain a kinetic theory for astrophysical plasma turbulence.
Key questions about the nature of kinetic turbulence that drive current
research efforts are identified. A comprehensive model of the kinetic turbulent
cascade is presented, with a detailed discussion of each component of the model
and a review of supporting and conflicting theoretical, numerical, and
observational evidence.Comment: 31 pages, 3 figures, 99 references, Chapter 6 in A. Lazarian et al.
(eds.), Magnetic Fields in Diffuse Media, Astrophysics and Space Science
Library 407, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg (2015
Antimatter Regions in the Early Universe and Big Bang Nucleosynthesis
We have studied big bang nucleosynthesis in the presence of regions of
antimatter. Depending on the distance scale of the antimatter region, and thus
the epoch of their annihilation, the amount of antimatter in the early universe
is constrained by the observed abundances. Small regions, which annihilate
after weak freezeout but before nucleosynthesis, lead to a reduction in the 4He
yield, because of neutron annihilation. Large regions, which annihilate after
nucleosynthesis, lead to an increased 3He yield. Deuterium production is also
affected but not as much. The three most important production mechanisms of 3He
are 1) photodisintegration of 4He by the annihilation radiation, 2) pbar-4He
annihilation, and 3) nbar-4He annihilation by "secondary" antineutrons produced
in anti-4He annihilation. Although pbar-4He annihilation produces more 3He than
the secondary nbar-4He annihilation, the products of the latter survive later
annihilation much better, since they are distributed further away from the
annihilation zone.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures. Minor changes to match the PRD versio
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